Solar tax credits a thing of the past

Published: April 15, 2005

To the editor:
Why would you publish a commentary calling for a solar tax credit (“It’s time for a residential solar tax credit,” April 1-14 issue) from a corporation that makes money from selling solar equipment and would profit directly from such a law? A letter to the editor is one thing. But a column? Does it carry any editorial weight or demand any credible response whatsoever? It’s pitiful.
Moreover, the time for solar tax credits was in 1978 and 1980 when they were enacted. That time came and went. Solar tax credits were eliminated and replaced by anti-environmental administrations in Washington, D.C., with two wars in the Gulf to protect U.S. oil supplies, and by initiatives to encourage and subsidize drilling for oil in parts of the world besides the Middle East.
Incidentally, the solar tax credits of 25 years ago were a policy failure.
William D’Alessandro
Amherst

This article appears in the April 15 2005 issue of New Hampshire Business Review